Does the Holy Spirit Vote Republican?

This morning I received an email from a “born-again” reader who chastised me for being a liberal.

“Why are you still politically liberal since becoming a born again Christian?” he wrote. “I was once liberal. But when I was born again, I believe the Holy Spirit changed many of my views to those that I think are the norm for all who are indwelt by the Holy Spirit.”

Hmmm. Okay. Well, for the record, I’m neither liberal nor conservative. Depends on the issue. Some of my opinions probably qualify as “conservative.” A great many of them, I know, qualify as liberal. Call me a conservative democrat. Call me a liberal republican. Better yet, don’t call me at all—especially if you want to talk politics.

But this guy’s point is interesting. Because most Christians are politically conservative, right? But I always figured that weirdness had as much to do with culture and regional history as it does anything else. At the moment I became a Christian, I didn’t think, “Sweet! Now I know how to vote!” But apparently this reader’s conversion experience did lead him to start voting differently than he had before he joined the faith.

Does anyone out there really think that voting Republican is a natural consequence of being Christian? Because if it is, then isn’t any Christian who votes as a liberal democrat less of a Christian—less indwelt by the Holy Spirit—than a Christian who votes the Republican ticket? And if that’s not true—if believing in Jesus has no natural or particular bearing on a person’s political affinities—then isn’t it wrong for conservatives to assert that they have any better or more comprehensive a grasp on Christ’s spirit than liberals do?